Shillingford to Wallingford. Rush Court is Bensington seen on our right soon after the canoe is on its way, and on the left the old "Bell Inn" offers hospitality to the traveller on the road from Wallingford to Dorchester. Further on, the river bends to the right where Bensington Weir and Lock, and a picturesque island, enrich the morning scene. Just past the island both banks and stream show the animation of the town of Wallingford a short distance beyond. Time was when the Britons, the Romans, the Saxons, and the Danes each had their settlements there. It boasted a mint before the Con Wallingford quest. A specimen of the silver penny struck at Wallingford by Edward the Confessor, is preserved in the Bodleian Library at Oxford. Here the Empress Maud was besieged by King Stephen during the civil wars, and on the river banks a conference took place between the contending armies whereby it was resolved that Stephen should possess the Crown during his life and that Henry II, son of the besieged Empress, should succeed him. It was at Wallingford that the eminent and learned jurist, Sir William Blackstone, lived, and wrote his great "Commentaries Sir William Blackstone's Home on the Laws of England." His house may still be seen from the river, a short distance below the bridge. Mingled feelings of respect and pain filled me as we paddled by. I recalled the long, laborious hours, the low-burning wick, the abstruse and heavy profundities, and the unkindly "exams" for which Sir William was responsible in my preparation for the Bar. I plied I plied my paddle vigorously and hastened on as Russell announced that of the few old churches still preserved at Wallingford, Sir William had erected one at his own expense-a penance, I presume, for imposing his heavily learned commentaries upon hard-driven aspirants to the Bar. A short distance below the town bridge is Chalmore Lock and Weir; and farther on, a ferry between a profusion of dark green foliage and noble trees. Mongewell, just below, is a fine mansion in the midst of beautiful gardens and wide plantations. A little farther on, somewhat removed from the opposite bank, is Cholsey, where an old church is worth the interest of the antiquary. Nearer the river is Cholsey Hill; and beyond that, about opposite to North Stoke, on the left, is the County Lunatic Asylum. At this point Russell made suggestions which tended to a breach of the peace. South Stoke Opposite is Little Stoke, below Moulsford and which the Great Western Railway Bridge spans the river near Moulsford on the right. A ferry crosses the river at South Stoke, where the quaint "Beetle and Wedge Inn" stands. Here the river courses to the left past chalk hills and a variety of scene dotted with modern homes of rare beauty. The "Leather Bottle Inn' marks a point where the river turns and passes through Cleve Lock. This is a picturesque spot, with a weir in each arm of the stream and four beautiful islands enhancing its loveliness. The village of Cleve lies to the left where the railway traverses the plain. Streatley and A short distance ahead are the Streatley hills, at the foot of which lie the villages of Streatley and Goring, the former in Berkshire, the latter in Oxfordshire, joined by a long, attractive bridge. There are several well-kept islands above and below the bridge, from the mainland to one of which is Goring Lock. "Swan Inn" stands invitingly on the right bank. In Goring, close to the water's edge, stands an interesting church. In the spring swans and |